Nursing bottle construction



Dec. 10, 1963 R. R. BUTTS 3,

mmsmc BOTTLE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 13, 1961 INVENTOR. FIG. 3 RICHARDR. BUTTS 2 I M,,,44W

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,113,637 NURSING BQTTLE QONSTRUQTHUNRichard Raymond Butts, M79 Midland Road, Bay City, Mich. Filed July 13,1961, Ser. No. 123,763 7 Claims. (fill. 215-11) This invention relatesto a nursing bottle construction and more panticularly to a disposablenursing bottle which can be filled with liquid, sealed under hygienicconditions and stored until such time as the contents are consumed, thebottle being formed of such inexpensive material as to permit it to bethrown away or discarded after it is emptied.

An object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle which isconstructed of such inexpensive material as to permit the bottle to bediscarded after its contents are drained and yet which is of suflicientrigidity to pernr t it to be self-supporting and to prevent collapsingor rupturing of the walls of the bottle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable nursingbottle construction in which beverages may be placed under completelysanitary conditions and which may be stored for an indefinite period oftime.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle thatmay be completely sealed prior to its use and which quickly and easilycan be pierced to permit its contents to be removed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved valveconstruction for nursing bottles which permits air to enter the bottlewhen, and in the amounts, necessary to assure proper flow of the bottlescontents.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed outspecifically or will become apparent from the following description whenit is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a nursing bottle formed in accordancewith the invention and in condition for storage prior to use;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of oneembodiment of a nursing bottle ready for use;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the inside surface of the base of the bottleshown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, but illustrating a modified formof the invention.

A bottle formed in accordance with the invention comprises a hollow body1 having side walls 2 and end walls 3 which terminate at one end of thebody in an integral nipple 4. At its other end, the side and end wallsterminate in outwardly flared end portions 5 and 6, respec' tively. Thebody member 1 preferably is an integral structure formed of flexiblematerial such as polyethylene and it may be manufactured by eithervacuum or injection molding processes or in any other suitable manner.

The apparatus includes a combined base member and valve structure which,in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4,comprises a base member 7 having an end Wall 8 of a size correspondingsubstantially to the cross-sectional size of the base end of the body 1.Extending completely around the wall 8 is an integral flange 9 that isflared to correspond to the flaring of the flanges 5 and 6 and which isadapted to be received within the flanges 5 and 6 in fiace-to-faceengagement therewith. The base member 7 preferably is formed of the samematerial as the body member 1 and it may be fixed to the latter by heatwelding or fusion of the flanges 5, 6 and 9.

At substantially the center of the base member, the

3,ll3,87 Patented Dec. 16, i863 wall 8 may be deformed outwardly so asto provide an outwardly convex depression 10 of substantially conicalshape. Received in the depression ii) is a ball valve element 11 havinga stem 12 rigidly secured thereto. Overlying the ball 11 is a mountingdevice or spider 13 having a plurality of arms 14 intersecting atcorresponding ends to form a centrally located web 15 that is aperturedso as slideably to receive the valve stem 12. The free ends of the arms14 may be permanently secured to the inner surface of the base wall 8 byheat welding, fusion, or any other suitable process. Surrounding thevalve stem 12 is a coil spring 16 which reacts between the web 15 andthe ball 11 to urge the latter snugly into engagement with the walls ofthe conical depression 10. The parts 11-16 preferably are formed of aplastic material such as polyethylene, although other materials may beused.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 5, the base member '7is the same as has been described earlier. The diflerence between thetwo embodiments is in the valve structure. In the apparatus shown inFIGURE 5, a ball element 17 may be molded at one end of a flexiblepolyethylene strap 18 which may be welded or fused at its other end tothe inner surface of the base wall 8. The strap 18 yieldably holds theball 17 in engagement with the wall of the conical depression 10.

In the manufacture of the nursing bottle of either embodiment, the bodymember 1 is formed as a separate unit and the combined valve and baseunit is formed as a separate unit. The empty bodies may be conveyed bysuitable machinery through a sterilizing machine and then to a fillingmachine where the inverted bodies may be filled with a beverage such asa milk formula, fruit juice, water, or the like. A sterilized basestructure then may be fitted within the open base end of a body and bewelded or fused thereto. When a body and a base are assembled, thecontents of the bottle will be completely sealed in an imperviouscontainer. Alternatively, the bottle body may be filled with a liquidand the base se cured to the body, following which the entire assemblymay be sterilized.

Following the sterilization process, the bottle may be rotected againstcontamination by being wrapped with a cover or shield 19 formed of athin sheet of flexible material such as has previously been described.The edges of the shield may be heat sealed or otherwise secured to oneanother so as to protect the entire bottle structure. Filled bottlesthen may be packed for shipment and storage.

To condition a bottle for use, the shield or hood member 19 may be tornofl the bottle and the end of the nipple pierced to provide an opening20 (see FIGURE 2) through which the contents of the bottle may 'bewithdrawn. If desired, a pin (not shown) may be packaged with eachbottle, inside the shield 19, so as to provide a sterilized device forpiercing the bottle. It is preferred that the nipple 4 be slightlydimpled on its exterior surface so as to facilitate its being pierced,the dimple being formed in the molding process. The conical projection10 on the base wall also should be provided with a dimple which can bepierced to form an opening 21 through which air may enter the body :asits contents are withdrawn.

The opening 21 in the base of the bottle will be sealed by theappropriate valve element 11 or 17 until the withdrawal of the fluidthrough the nipple causes a reduction in pressure within the bottle topermit atmospheric pressure to displace the valve element against thebias of the spring 16 or 18, thereby assuring a smooth flow of fluidthrough the nipple. The Wall thickness of the body should be such as toprevent collapsing of the body during removal of its contents. Stateddifferently, the capacity or" the springs 16 or 18 should be such as toassure opening of the associated valve prior to collapsing of the bodywalls. if it is desired to make use of thinner walls, they may belongitudinally fluted or ribbed to rigidify them. When the pressuresinside and outside the bottle are equalized, the spring 16 or 18 willeffect resealing of the opening 21.

As is indicated in the drawings, the depressions 10 do not extend beyondthe flange 9 of the base. Accordingly, the bottle may be stood uprighton its base.

When the bottle is empty it may be thrown away, inasmuch as thematerials from which the bottle is made are extremely inexpensive.

The disclosed embodiments are representative of presently preferredforms of the invention but are intended to be illustrative rather thandefinitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A disposable nursing bottle construction comprising a hollow bodymember having imperforate walls; means at one end of said body memberforming a nipple; and check valve means remote from said one end of saidbody member and located wholly within the latter, said nipple beingadapted to be pierced to permit the contents of said body member to bewithdrawn and said body being adapted to be pierced adjacent said valvemeans to permit air to enter said body member under the control of saidvalve means as the contents of said body member are withdrawn.

2. A disposable nursing bottle construction comprising a hollow bodymember having imperforate walls formed of flexible material; means atone end of said body member forming a nipple; check valve means remotefrom said one end of said body member and located wholly within thelatter adjacent a wall of said body; and yieldable means within saidbody resiliently urging said check valve means into engagement with saidWall, said nipple being adapted to be pierced to permit (the contents ofsaid body member to be withdrawn and said wall being adapted to bepierced adjacent said valve means to permit air to enter said bodymember under the control of said valve means as the contents of saidbody member are withdrawn.

3. A disposable nursing bottle construction comprising a hollow bodymember having imperforate walls formed of flexible material; means atone end of said body member forming a nipple; a wall of said body memberat the opposite end of said body member having an outwardly convexdepression therein; a ball check valve wholly within said body member;and yieldable means in engagement with said valve and resiliently urgingthe latter into said depression, said nipple being adapted to be piercedto permit the contents of said body member to be withdrawn and said wallof said body being adapted to be pierced adjacent said valve to permitair to enter said body member under the control of said valve as thecontents of said body member are withdrawn.

4. A disposable nursing bottie construction comprising a hollow bodymember formed of flexible, imperforate material and havin an integralnipple at one end thereof; an imperforate closure wall at the other endof said body member, said closure wall having an outwardly convexdepression formed therein; a valve element; means mounting said valveelement wholly within said body member and adjacent said depression; andyieldable means Within said body member in engagement with said valveelement and yieldably biasing the latter into said depression.

5. The construction set forth in claim 4 wherein said valve elementcomprises a ball member, and wherein said yieldable means comprises aspring reacting between said ball member and said mounting means.

6. The construction set forth in claim 4 wherein said mounting meanscomprises a flexible and resilient strap secured at one end to saidclosure and having a ball memher at its other end received in saiddepression, said ball member constituting said valve element and saidstrap constituting said yieldable means.

7. A disposable nursing bottle construction comprising a hollow bodymember having side walls formed of flexible, impertorate material, theside walls of said body member terminating at one end of the latter inmeans forming a nipple, the side walls of said body member terminatingat the other end of the latter in outwardly flared flanges extendingbeyond the sides of said body member to form a base for said bodymember, said flanges being of such rigidity as to enable them to supportsaid body member in an upright position; a bottom wall formed ofimperforate material and secured to said flanges, said bottom wall beingcapable of being pierced at a predetermined zone to form an openingthrough which air may enter said body member as its contents aredrained; check valve means mounted on said bottom wall on its insidesurface at said zone; and yieldable means acting on said valve meansurging the latter into engagement with said bottom wall for yieldabiyclosing said opening.

Allen Aug. 20, 1957 Litzie Mar. 4, 1958

1. A DISPOSABLE NURSING BOTTLE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODYMEMBER HAVING IMPERFORATE WALLS; MEANS AT ONE END OF SAID BODY MEMBERFORMING A NIPPLE; AND CHECK VALVE MEANS REMOTE FROM SAID ONE END OF SAIDBODY MEMBER AND LOCATED WHOLLY WITHIN THE LATTER, SAID NIPPLE BEINGADAPTED TO BE PIERCED TO PERMIT THE CONTENTS OF SAID